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Arrival

Play trailer 1:00 Poster for Arrival PG-13 2016 1h 56m Sci-Fi Mystery & Thriller Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
94% Tomatometer 441 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Linguistics professor Louise Banks leads an elite team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touch down in 12 locations around the world. As nations teeter on the verge of global war, Banks and her crew must race against time to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors. Hoping to unravel the mystery, she takes a chance that could threaten her life and quite possibly all mankind.
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Arrival

Arrival

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Critics Consensus

Arrival delivers a must-see experience for fans of thinking person's sci-fi that anchors its heady themes with genuinely affecting emotion and a terrific performance from Amy Adams.

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Critics Reviews

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Alexandra Heller-Nicholas The Blue Lenses 08/25/2018
Arrival transcends the limitations that so often govern the less creative examples of the subgenre, instead using it as a loose conceptual foundation upon which to build a theoretically-informed examination of what precisely ... makes us human. Go to Full Review
Kristen Lopez Culturess 11/20/2017
Arrival couldn't have arrived (pun intended) at a better time. Go to Full Review
K. Austin Collins The Ringer 08/10/2017
I think of Arrival in terms of color: the milky grays of the clouds rolling over the Montana plain; the bright blue of computer screens bouncing off the gray tents on the makeshift army compound. Go to Full Review
Jonathon Wilson Ready Steady Cut May 30
3/5
This is atypical science fiction that, ironically, only knows how to communicate in a language we already understand. Go to Full Review
JD Duran InSession Film 08/08/2024
The film works as a powerful allegory for how we try to decode and interpret the tragedies of our lives. Go to Full Review
Ankit Ojha Cinema Elite 07/09/2024
4.5/5
Without spoiling too much, let’s just say Villeneuve and Heisserer use the Kuleshov effect to turn the non-linear storytelling of “Arrival” from a gimmick to an indispensable part of the film. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Jonathan F 02/05/2022 Extremely short-paced, felt like most of the movie was empty without a real driving story. I would have hoped for more action. See more Katie D 03/15/2021 An amazing film! very well-done, thought-provoking, entertaining and unpredictable. my only complaint is about the loud horn blasts that accompany so many science fiction movie scenes - unnecessary, unrealistic and distracting! other than that it was awesome! See more Travis M @TMorg007 Jul 10 I loved it! Solid acting and a fantastic unveiling of the "visitors". This is a great looking modern film in the style of classic sci-fi movies where science is the actual focus to solve a mystery while reminding us the unique value of humanity. Watch it! See more Gaald G @RT76099229 Jul 9 Thoughtful and well told. One of my favourite Sci-Fi movies ever! See more Par H @Parhwy Jul 4 Arrival (2016) is a 116-minute-long US sci-fi I saw on Prime in July 2023. For me, this is a perfect contact movie (better than Contact even). It is not a perfect movie however it is close, so close to being so. I genuinely cannot think of a flaw that is significant enough to make it less than a 9/10. The production design, the story, the plot, editing, casting, acting, CGI… and so on, all 9/10. I should declare at this late point that I have rewatched this film 10s of times. Rewatch? Yes! Recommend? Yes! 9/10. See more Paolo F @XKP-Producer Jun 30 Arrival proves that sci-fi doesn't need explosions, laser battles or giant space wars to be unforgettable. It's quiet, intelligent and surprisingly emotional. The story moves at its own pace, asking you to pay attention instead of throwing action at your face every five minutes. And somehow, it works. By the end, you're simply glad you watched it. Amy Adams delivers a fantastic performance, carrying a film that is more about people and communication than aliens. If you're looking for adrenaline, this isn't your movie. But if you enjoy well-acted dramas wrapped in a thoughtful sci-fi story, Arrival is absolutely worth your time. Smart, elegant and refreshingly different. See more Read all reviews
Arrival

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Arrival

Arrival: Official Clip - The Nature of a Question Arrival: Official Clip - The Nature of a Question 2:08 Arrival: Official Clip - Death Process Arrival: Official Clip - Death Process 2:13 Arrival: Official Clip - You Changed My Mind Arrival: Official Clip - You Changed My Mind 2:13 Arrival: Official Clip - Past and Present in the Future Arrival: Official Clip - Past and Present in the Future 2:06 Arrival: Official Clip - The Heptapods Speak Arrival: Official Clip - The Heptapods Speak 2:13 Arrival: Official Clip - You Have the Weapon Arrival: Official Clip - You Have the Weapon 1:41 Arrival: Official Clip - Sabotaged Diplomacy Arrival: Official Clip - Sabotaged Diplomacy 2:13 Arrival: Official Clip - The Many Things We Don't Know Arrival: Official Clip - The Many Things We Don't Know 2:10 Arrival: Official Clip - First Contact Arrival: Official Clip - First Contact 2:13 Arrival: Official Clip - A Proper Introduction Arrival: Official Clip - A Proper Introduction 2:13 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis Linguistics professor Louise Banks leads an elite team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touch down in 12 locations around the world. As nations teeter on the verge of global war, Banks and her crew must race against time to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors. Hoping to unravel the mystery, she takes a chance that could threaten her life and quite possibly all mankind.
Director
Denis Villeneuve
Producer
Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Aaron Ryder, David Linde
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
21 Laps Entertainment, Lava Bear Films, FilmNation
Rating
PG-13 (Brief Strong Language)
Genre
Sci-Fi, Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 11, 2016, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Jan 27, 2017
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 31, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$100.5M
Runtime
1h 56m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital